


The Past Comes back to Haunt Me

by Lesbian_Ducklord



Category: Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 1991)
Genre: F/M, Me: hold my cider, angst up in here, darkwing is mentioned but doesn't actually show up, first time writing just angst so here we go, i tried to avoid it but Steelbeak does wind up saying the word sex, mentions of forced surgeries and implied abusive parenting, same with High Command, second chapter has aggressive verbal homophobia, so if that bothers you, the show: doesnt give Steelbeak a backstory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-09-07 13:29:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20310289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lesbian_Ducklord/pseuds/Lesbian_Ducklord
Summary: Steelbeak is having a good night with Ammonia Pine when the conversation of his past comes up.NEW UPDATE: Chapter 2: Ammonia Pine and Ample Grime's backstory and how they got tangled up with F.O.W.L





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First time doing an angst fic so of course it's these two. This is entirely based on my own personal headcannons for Steelbeak's backstory. Fluff towards the end of course. I can't make this entire thing fucked up, what am I? Satan?

It had been an unusually nice night for Steelbeak. A heist gone right for once, a very happy High Command, and getting to watch Darkwing Doofus fall right into their trap. Granted, they didn’t get to watch his demise as they had left his Eggmen to see the hero met his end, but this was better. Steelbeak and Ammonia Pine were currently sat on the large couch in the living room of his penthouse. The two of them were laughing as they reminisced about the previous events of the night. Steelbeak sipped his wine before speaking, “Did youse see da look on his face? Wat a complete idiot!” 

The woman sat next to him laughed. “Yeah! That was the easiest mess I’ve ever cleaned up! Did he really think sending in his little brat was gonna distract us?” The two continued to laugh when the rooster winced and made a noise of pain. The pigeon stopped her laughter and quickly turned to see what was causing the rooster pain. “You ok Steely?” Steelbeak had set his wine glass down and was currently leaning down to slide his shoe off. Wincing in pain before answering, “I’m fine babe. Just a phantom pain is all.” Ammonia raised her brow in confusion before looking down and seeing Steelbeak’s ankles. The back of his ankle was slightly discolored and one thing stuck out to her, or rather the lack of something sticking out. Steelbeak seemed to relax a slight bit after getting his talons free from his shoes, but tensed up again when Ammonia spoke. “Shouldn’t you have spurs there?” It was an innocent question. She didn’t know the full extent of the hell F.O.W.L had put him through and that being said, he decided to indulge her. 

“Yup, an I still would if it weren’t for dose bastards up at High Command.” he sadly stated. Ammonia frowned at him and put her hand onto his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Steelbeak had been with F.O.W.L a long time and from what she knew, it had not been a good time for him. All she knew was the duck silhouette of High Command referred to himself as Steelbeak’s father and that the rooster had lost his beak because of F.O.W.L. She didn’t ever push too far, knowing he didn’t like to talk or think about it. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want. I shouldn’t have asked-” ''No, it’s fine. I shoulda probably talked to youse bout dis before anyhow.”

================================

He was a child when F.O.W.L picked him up. His mother had walked out on them, and his father was killed by a F.O.W.L agent who had been sent to steal some information from him. Steelbeak had been something the organization didn’t know about, so the agent took a young Steelbeak with him and brought him before High Command. Six year old Steelbeak was given a choice, be taken in by the duck silhouette of High Command and be trained to become an agent when he was of age, or be left to fight for survival alone on the streets. He chose the first option, not knowing what he was getting himself into. He had done well in his first few years. The silhouette, who he had been instructed to call his father, raised him with what the duck thought to be ‘‘tough love”. Steelbeak trained and trained until High Command decided he was ready for his first mission at the age of 18. 

He was to successfully steal and deliver a file to a very important client of F.O.W.L. Everything had gone according to plan, until a young masked hero interfered. Not only had he switched the files and made Steelbeak look like a fool, but he had also succeeded in getting the client arrested. The rooster had managed to escape back to High Command and expected to be welcomed with open arms by his ‘father’ for almost succeeding on his first mission. He had been so horribly wrong. Upon returning he was met with the stiff, blank staring silhouette of his ‘father’. Steelbeak had repeatedly apologized as the duck led him down a hallway and into a large room. The room was full of science equipment, Eggmen, the other two members of High Command, and in the middle of the room was a metal table with restraints. The doors closed behind him as he apologized again. This time however, two Eggmen had come up behind him and grabbed both of his arms, his ‘father’ refused to say a word to him as the two men dragged him to the table and restrained him. He kicked, he yelled, he thrashed. He called out for the duck. The last thing he remembered was seeing a figure looming over him as he was sedated. When he awoke, his beak was a chunk of metal.

In the city, a young Ammonia Pine and her younger sister Ample Grime had been fleeing from a failed heist and were hiding in an alleyway. The two were blocked into the alley by Eggmen before being met with the silhouette of a young Steelbeak. Upon stepping into the light, his new beak was on full display for the two to see. He had been sent to recruit the two for F.O.W.L and Ammonia almost immediately agreed. Her sister was a bit more hesitant, but Ammonia was head over heels at first glance and upon getting a few more details, agreed to a second more formal meeting to discuss their recruitment. After succeeding in recruiting the sisters, Steelbeak was given another chance to prove his worth. He did not fail to deliver and even killed two SHUSH agents in the process. As the years passed, he continued to climb the ranks of F.O.W.L. His now metal beak a grim reminder that no matter what, he could not fail whatever mission he was tasked with. He would continue to succeed in his missions until many years later when a certain masked mallard got involved with SHUSH and made his life hell.

==================================

The rooster hadn’t realized that while he had been telling Ammonia about his past, he had been laying his head on her chest as she stroked the back of his neck. The pigeon looked down at him sympathetically as he finished his tale. “They took ma spurs after I had accidentally used them out of reflex against my ‘father’ when he got aggressive with me for failin a mission. Been missin em for two years now.” Ammonia continued to lightly stroke the rooster’s neck feathers as she spoke, “So they took your beak as a form of punishment?” Steelbeak nodded his head, “It ain’t gone entirely. Der’s still some remnants of my old beak underneath dis.” he said with a sorrowful tone as he tapped his beak. “Der’s a reason I’m pissed when Dahkwing shows up and why I’m terrified to return to F.O.W.L after failing.” 

The pigeon wrapped her arms around him and held the rooster close as leaned closer into her. The two stayed that way for a while, just listening to the other breathing as they processed everything. Steelbeak had never talked to anyone about what he had gone through, it felt almost refreshing to be able to talk to someone about it. Ammonia was both extremely pissed and extremely sorrowful. Things made so much more sense to her now and yet, she felt horrible. She couldn’t believe the hell F.O.W.L had put him through. “There really is no getting out of F.O.W.L, is there?’’ Steelbeak sat up slightly to look Ammonia in the eyes, the fear was clear in her eyes. He frowned as he shook his head. Ammonia felt distraught. She couldn’t care less about the danger she could be in, but the idea that Steelbeak was in danger. Not to mention her sister. Her little sister that she had dragged into this whole mess. 

The rooster could sense the pigeon’s distress and leaned close to her face, rubbing his beak against hers and lightly caressing her face with his hand. Ammonia let herself be distracted from her dark thoughts and closed her eyes, releasing a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding in. She wrapped her right arm around the small of his back and put her left hand over his chest. They stayed this way for a minute before Steelbeak lightly gasped in shock, pulling his head back and moving his hand to her shoulder. 

Ammonia looked up at the rooster, “What? Are you ok? Did I do something wrong?” she asked worriedly. Steelbeak was wide eyed, face pink, as he put his other hand over his beak. He didn’t move or speak for a moment before starting to lightly chuckle. Ammonia gazed at the Rooster in a confused and worried manner. “Dat’s the first time I’ve had anyone close to my beak in such an intimate way since…” he quietly said, trailing off. He chuckled softly before speaking again, “Would youse believe I used ta like havin my neck and beak area pet and preened?” Ammonia stared at the rooster in disbelief, “Really?” she asked to which Steelbeak nodded. “Aven’t really been in a relationship dat wasn’t sex based since my beak so. I aven’t really been vulnerable enough with anyone to let dem touch me der.” 

Ammonia couldn’t believe what she was seeing or hearing. Steelbeak, Mr. Too Good For Everyone, Mr. Suave Smooth Criminal, Chief Baddy, was being vulnerable and open with her. She gave him a smile before taking his face in her hands and lightly pressing her beak against his in a kiss. They both melted into the kiss. The metal of the rooster’s beak was cold, but familiar to her. The two eventually separated and pressed their foreheads together. Ammonia was the first to speak, “Steely?” Steelbeak opened his eyes half lidded, “Mmm?” Ammonia had wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and upon looking him in the eyes, averted her gaze to the floor. “Can… Can I- May I…” The pigeon sighed in frustration, looking down. Steelbeak put his hand under her and lifted her face up to look at him. He moved his head to expose his neck, giving her permission. Ammonia gave him a soft reassuring smile before putting a hand onto his chest and leaning her beak into his neck. She began preening along his neck. 

Steelbeak was tense, this was something he hadn’t let anyone do in years after all, but man did it feel good. As Ammonia used her beak to carefully reposition his feathers, the rooster started to relax and lean into her touch. She slowly moved up closer to his beak, giving him a chance to tell her ‘no’ if he wanted to. With no physical or verbal objections from her partner, the pigeon moved closer to his beak. Upon moving closer, she heard a quiet and faint noise. Was... Was Steelbeak… Purring? The answer, yes. The closer she got to his beak, the louder his purring became. Steelbeak was too lost in the feeling to even acknowledge the purring sound he was emitting. 

Ammonia eventually pulled back from the rooster’s face to see him gazing at her with the most lovestruck expression she had ever seen from him. Steelbeak gazed lovingly at the woman sitting before him and leaned forward to kiss her again. Upon breaking the kiss, he leaned against her chest and softly said “I love youse, Ammonia.” Ammonia had mindlessly started stroking the back of the rooster’s neck again, but froze upon hearing the words he had just said. Her expression turned from shock to a loving smile.

“I love you too, Steely.” The two F.O.W.L agents fell asleep on the couch in each other’s arms.


	2. A Tale of Two Sisters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of how Ammonia Pine and Ample Grime got where they are today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER:  
STRONG VERBAL HOMOPHOBIA IN SECOND SEGMENT

The life of Ammonia Pine and Ample Grime had been one full of hardships. It hadn’t always been however.

The two grew up in a well off family with their mother and father. Despite Ample constantly making messes for Ammonia to clean up, the two were close as could be and shared almost everything with the other. High School was where things started to take a turn for the worst for the sisters. Ammonia had been relatively popular amongst her peers in school. She had many different relationships during her highschool years, all of which ended in a positive manner and left her friends with all of her exes. Ample Grime was almost the complete opposite. She had few friends and had never dated anyone. Ample being a freshman while Ammonia was a senior didn’t help matters. Things were hard for the two when it came to their parents. Unlike the sisters, their mother and father were very conservative and close minded. 

To them, they had a son and a daughter. A son and daughter who could only date someone of the opposite gender. The sisters had made a promise to each other, neither would ever out the other to their parents. Ample wasn’t allowed to mention Ammonia’s bisexuality inside the house, and Ammonia wasn’t allowed to call Ample by her preferred pronouns and name. They had managed to keep these things a secret from their parents until one night, a night that would change their lives forever.

\--------------------------------------------------------------  
“Come on Ammonia, we’re gonna be late!” The older pigeon looked to her younger sibling who had stood up from the dinner table and smiled. “Hang on. At least let me clean up before we go.” The younger pigeon’s eyes rolled as an older woman spoke. “What’s got you in such a rush?” The older woman asked with a slight chuckle at the teenager’s impatience. “We’ve still gotta pick up Ammonia’s girlfriend and if we don’t hurry we’re all gonna be-” 

A dead silence hit the room, the only sound to interrupt it was the crashing of a plate breaking against the floor. Ammonia turned from where she had been standing in front of the sink and stared at the older woman’s back with a look of true terror and fear. Their father was the first to speak as he stood from the dinner table, “I thought we had talked about this, Ammonia.” 

Ample scrambled to find words as the older pigeon stood from his seat at the table “I-i-it was just a slip of the tongue dad! Ammonia doesn’t have a girlfriend, I meant to say boyfriend!” Their mother quickly shut Ample up with a death glare. What ensued was lots of yelling from the two older pigeons in the room. “You have disgraced us!’’ “Imagine what the neighbors will think!” “What is wrong with you?” “How can we ever go out in public again?” Ammonia just stood there and took the verbal abuse, her hands balling into fists as she fought back tears. “You are not our daughter.” “You are a disgusting sin. Get out of here now.” 

“ENOUGH!” The loud yell of the youngest pigeon caused the other three to all stare in shock at the outburst. Ample Grime shook nervously while speaking, “If she’s not your d-daughter because she likes all genders, t-then I guess I’m not your child e-either.” The look of shock upon the faces of their parents morphed into one of disgust. 

“Get the hell out of here. We never wanna see either of you again. You are disgusting and wrong and never welcome here again. You are dead to us.” That night, the two teenagers fled the neighborhood and didn’t look back.

\-----------------------------------

The two sisters barely scraped by on the streets, jumping between abandoned buildings to live in. Ammonia did her best to provide for her younger sister under the circumstances. Often having to steal to make ends meet. As the years passed, Ample began assisting in the small crimes the two partook in. Despite not finishing highschool, the two were tech geniuses and had developed a certain amount of street smarts, both skills that came in handy during their crimes. 

After a few years, the two traveled from their hometown to the city of Saint Canard in the hopes of a better life. Lucky for them, the police in Saint Canard were a lot easier to outwit than the police of their hometown. Things were going good for a few months. They hadn’t managed to lockdown a place to permanently live, but they weren’t going hungry every night and were becoming more successful in their heists. 

That all changed when a vigilante in a purple mask started to appear. The two sisters had managed to avoid the mallard for a few weeks, but one night the two didn’t get so lucky.

\------------------------------

“Ammonia he’s catching up!” Ammonia Pine stole a quick glance over her shoulder to see that her sister was in fact correct. 

The two had been trying to steal from a factory in order to build some weapons for protection when the masked mallard had come crashing in to ruin things. The two pigeons were currently running down the street as the ‘hero’ chased after them. Ammonia continued to run as Ample, who was currently slumped over her shoulder, aimed her slime gun towards the hero and attempted to fire. “Shoot! It’s jammed!” she exclaimed in a panic. 

The older pigeon rounded the corner and ran into an alleyway, only stopping when the sounds of police sirens and the yelling of a certain mallard made her turn in shock. Carefully setting Ample onto the ground, the two sisters poked their heads around the corner to see some police cars chasing the masked mallard away from the two sisters. Ammonia sighed in relief before turning to continue down the alleyway. “Come on, we gotta get outta here before that dirtball shows back up.” Ample fumbled with her gun in an attempt to unjam it as she trailed behind her sister. 

“Hey! That’s an insult to dirtballs ya know.” 

Ammonia shook her head in a playful manner when a limo pulled up, blocking the exit to the alley. Both pigeons stopped and Ammonia protectively put her arm in front of the younger pigeon, turning to go back the way they came only to see the entrance to the alley being blocked off by some short ducks in yellow suits with white helmets. The sound of a car door opening made the sisters turn back to face the limo as they both drew their weapons. Ample held her gun to her chest as Ammonia stood protectively in front of her, mop in hand and ready to beat the shit out of whoever this was. 

A tall, slender, rooster shaped figure emerged from the car and laughed, “Ladies, ladies, deres no need for da weapons. I just wanna talk to youse bout an opportunity is all.” The man was covered by the shadows of the alleyway, but something on his face reflected the streetlights behind him. “Who are you and what do you want?” Ammonia spat. The man let out another laugh. “You gotta fiery spirit. The higher ups sure are gonna like dat.” 

The sisters watched nervously as the figure moved forward into the light revealing a tall rooster in a white suit. The cause of the shine on his face? His beak made of metal.. “The name’s Steelbeak. Chief Agent Steelbeak of F.O.W.L- Fiendish Organization for World Larceny.” Ammonia’s stance momentarily faltered as she gazed up at the man standing a few feet away. Her heart skipped a beat as she stared into his eyes. Ample looked confused back and forth from the rooster to her lovestruck sister. Ample aggressively cleared her throat, pulling Ammonia from her distracting thoughts. 

"Yeah and what in the hell is that?” Ample sternly questioned. Steelbeak smirked before speaking, “F.O.W.L is a global criminal organization whose goal is to eliminate SHUSH, make a profit, and take over da world.” Ammonia moved Ample further behind her and held her mop tightly as the agent approached them slowly. “Point is, the bosses up at High Command ave eard of youse two, and de wannna give youse an opportunity to work for F.O.W.L.” 

Ammonia scoffed, “Why should we trust you?” Steelbeak laughed before leaning down and placing his finger underneath Ammonia’s chin, pulling her face close to his. “They’ve been watching youse two fer a while now. The perks o workin’ for us is a real nice paycheck, which judging by your current situation, sounds like da type of thing yer in da market for.” Ammonia’s face was red with how close the rooster was as he spoke in a suave tone. 

Unlike her sister however, Ample Grime was having none of whatever this man was trying to do. The younger pigeon launched forward and landed a swift kick to the agent’s nether regions. The ducks surrounding them all started to move as the rooster shouted in pain and fell to his knees. 

“Hold yer fire!” the rooster shouted in annoyance. Ample glared as the agent slowly stood back up. Steelbeak backed away slightly from the two as he regained his composure. 

“I’m gonna let dat slide babe, but I would advise against doin dat in da future. High Command wants youse two as agents. If yer interested, give us a call.” The rooster reached his hand out with a business card in between his fingers. Ample glared more intensely at the pet name before snarking back, “Pfft! Sure, buddy. I think we’re good-” Ammonia snatched the card from the rooster causing her sister’s jaw to drop. 

Steelbeak smirked, “Hopefully I’ll be seeing youse ladies again soon. Boys! Let’s go!” The rooster turned and got back into the limo, driving off with his henchman following in their own car.

\------------------------

The walk back to the abandoned house the sisters were staying in was a silent one. When the two pigeons finally made it inside, Ample was the first to speak. 

“What’d you grab the card for? We both know we aren’t gonna call them.” Ample threw herself down onto a beat up couch the two had found. The younger pigeon watched as Ammonia set her stuff down and quickly sat up upon seeing the look on her face. 

“Wait a minute, hold on. You can’t seriously be considering this can you?” Ammonia turned to face her sister before speaking. “I am. This could be what we need! Not to mention the perks look pretty good.” Ammonia had started twirling a piece of her hair around her finger as she spoke. Ample grimaced. “One, ew! Two, he’s a guy! Three, have you lost your mind? Not only is he not even that good looking, but we don’t need him and his dumb organization! We’re perfectly fine and better off without them.”

Ammonia frowned and walked over to sit next to her sister. She wrapped her arms around Ample as she spoke and pulled her close. “This isn’t about a guy, this is about me making sure I can provide for you and protect you. He’s just a bonus. Also you’re a lesbian, you don’t get an opinion on if he’s attractive or not.” 

“I can still tell whether someone is attractive or not! I can tell you if a garbage can looks nice or not that doesn’t mean I’m attracted to a garbage can!” Ample exclaimed as she threw her hands in the air. Ammonia let out a boisterous laugh at her sister’s antics. Her laughing ceased when she saw the concerned face of her younger sister. “He seems like a dirtball Ammonia, and not the good kind. His organization seems really shady, are you sure we can trust him or them?” 

The older pigeon pulled her sister into a tight hug. “I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think it was what is best for you. I don’t know how much we can trust any of them, but if joining them means a chance for me to give you a better life, then I’m gonna do it. But they want both of us, so you have to be okay with this too.” The two sat this way for a few seconds until Ample sighed and pushed her sister back to look up at her. 

“Ok, let’s do it.”

\----------------------

The sound of a telephone ringing filled the dim moonlit office.

“Mmmhello?”

“We’re in.”

The metal beak speaking into the phone curled into a dastardly smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ample Grime kicking Steelbeak where the sun don't shine is probably my favorite joke other than the joke about her being a lesbian and not knowing if guys are hot or not. For clarification, Ammonia is merely joking with Ample and she knows fully well Ample doesn't have to be into guys to know if they are good looking or not. It's literally based on a conversation I had with my sister

**Author's Note:**

> Here we've come to the end! Might add another two chapters to this that could be their own one off thing. For example one would be Ammonia, Ample, and Steelbeak's first meeting, and the other would be Ammonia and Ample's backstories. You wouldn't need to read say Steelbeak's backstory to get the other chapters type deal. Idk, hope you enjoyed this for now!


End file.
